This invention relates to a stabilizer for a mine emulation system deployed underwater. More particularly, the stabilizer bracket of this invention can be quickly mounted on a cylindrically-shaped underwater mine emulation system to stabilize and orient it in a predetermined fixed attitude to improve the quality of gathered data.
Acoustic/seismic, magnetic, and pressure data is collected underwater by numbers of different sensors that usually are contained in one or more housings. The housings are commonly made in cylindrical shapes to protect the sensors and interconnected processing modules from the effects of the ambient water during the long periods of time that sometimes must be spent to collect meaningful amounts of data. The housings additionally must be stable and not move since random or uncompensated motion can compromise the quality, or even the validity of the gathered data.
One technique currently used to stabilize the cylindrical-shaped housings is to put a dense, heavy weight on one side of the housing. This side that is weighted would nominally be considered the underside since the force of gravity would bring it to rest on the ocean bottom. However, because the cylindrical shape defines a curved outer surface, the housing is still prone to move, or rock due to wave action and/or sea currents. It has been noted that noise was present in the magnetic data, and this noise was created by sea currents/wave action rocking the housing about its cylindrical, or longitudinal axis.
Thus, in accordance with this inventive concept, a need has been recognized in the state of the art for an effective means that can be easily connected to a cylindrical-shaped housing to stabilize and orient it on the ocean floor.